In the construction of any structure, the initial laying out and staking of the building's perimeter is critical to the successful completion of later stages of the building process. If the foundation is inaccurate, expensive corrective action may be required before the building is completed. If the building is erected with a poorly laid out foundation, many of the walls and corners will look out of true or will have required excessive construction time to overcome the initial inaccuracies.
There are two primary methods used for properly laying out a perimeter/foundation of a building. The first method requires the use of an expensive instrument such as an optical level or a transit level. The user initially starts from a known reference line or point and uses the instrument to find points for the structure's corners that are located in the proper angular orientation. The use of these types of instruments requires the operator to have considerable expertise and training to ensure accurate results.
The second method for laying out a perimeter/foundation of a structure involves the combined use of various measuring tools with basic geometry to mark the required perimeter. There are four well-known procedures of this type for accomplishing a correct laying out and staking of a perimeter for a square or rectangular area.
The first procedure requires the use of at least two steel measuring tapes. The builder first depicts the structure on paper once the exact wall lengths are known. Next, he or she calculates the length of a diagonal line that would connect opposite corners of the perimeter. This is accomplished using the Pythagorean method of calculating the hypotenuse of a right triangle (i.e.-hypotenuse squared equals the first side squared plus the second side squared). Using this information, the builder initially places two stakes at the proper location on the site to mark the corners of one wall of the structure. Next, the locations of the adjoining sides are determined in the following manner. First, a steel tape measure is extended the length of one of the sidewalls with one end of the measure at the appropriate corner stake. The outer end of the measure is then placed at the approximate position of the outer corner. A second tape measure is then placed at the other initially-placed stake and extended out a distance equal to the diagonal of the area to be enclosed by the perimeter. The outer end of each measure is then brought together and this effectively marks one of the outer corners of the perimeter. The builder then places a stake in the ground at this location. The procedure is then used a second time to locate and stake the fourth corner of the perimeter. The builder then connects each of the stakes with wire or string and the marking of the perimeter/foundation of the structure is complete.
If multiple tape measures are not available, a single tape measure can be used to perform a similar procedure to that described above. The builder initially places two stakes to mark one side of the perimeter. Next, he or she places a tape measure at the first initially-placed stake and extends it a distance equal to the length of the appropriate side. The builder orients the extended tape in a direction approximately perpendicular to the line formed by the two initially-placed stakes. Once the measure is fully extended, the outer end of the measure is used to draw an arc in the ground at the approximate location of the first of the outer corners. The builder uses the above procedure a second time to draw an arc at the approximate location of the second of the outer corners. Next, the builder starts at one of the known corners and extends the tape measure a distance equal to a diagonal of the area to be enclosed and brings the end of the tape measure to what will be the opposite corner. The outer end of the measure is then used to draw another arc on the ground. Where the new arc and the previously drawn arc cross, a stake is placed in the ground and this marks the location of an outer corner of the structure. This step is repeated to find the fourth corner of the structure. In this procedure and the one detailed above, once the four corners are staked, the builder will commonly use the tape measure and again measure the diagonal distance between the corners of the enclosed area. If each corner is a right angle, the two measured diagonals will be equal in length.
A third procedure sometimes used also relies on basic trigonometry. The user initially measures and stakes out the first two corners of a perimeter. Next, starting from one end, he or she measures out the length of an adjoining side and places a stake at the outer end. The person then checks the angle formed by using the "3-4-5" rule of a right triangle (i.e.-a right triangle will be formed by any structure having sides that are in the ratio of 3-4-5). This is accomplished by first measuring along one side some number of three-foot units. The user then measures an identical number of four-foot units on the adjoining side. A tape measure is then placed between the measured outer points and if the tape measure reads a like number of five-foot units, the angle between the two adjacent sides is exactly ninety degrees. When the angle is determined to be more or less than ninety degrees, the outer stake(s) is moved appropriately and the angle is again checked. The user then repeats the procedure from the other initially-staked corner to find the fourth corner. Once the corners have been marked, the user measures the diagonal distances of the enclosed area to ensure that they are the same length and thereby again checks that the included angles of the corners are right angles.
The last of the procedures of this type makes use of an oversized right triangle normally fabricated from wood. The triangle usually will have one three-foot long side, a four-foot long side and a hypotenuse that is five feet in length. As in the previous procedures, the user initially stakes the two ends (corners) of one side of the perimeter. The user then places the wooden triangle at each corner and sights along each side of the triangle to determine the direction of the sides of the perimeter. The user then measures out and stakes the outer two corners. Following this, the user again measures the diagonals to ensure the accuracy of each included corner angle. This last method, while being the simplest, depends on the user finding perfectly straight lengths of wood for the fabrication of the triangle. In addition, the user must visually determine the layout of the sides. Therefore, this last method can be extremely frustrating to use and can lead to an inaccurately laid out perimeter/foundation.
Each of the above methods is somewhat complicated and requires a large amount of user experience before accurate results can be reliably achieved.
The first objective of the invention is to provide a user with an apparatus that he or she can employ to quickly and accurately lay out and stake a perimeter/foundation of a structure.
The second objective of the invention is to provide an apparatus that does not require a person to have extensive prior experience o to perform trigonometry calculations in order to achieve accurate results.
A third objective of the invention is to provide an apparatus for laying out a perimeter/foundation that is low in cost. This is unlike the high cost of an optical level or transit which requires multiple usages to warrant its purchase.
A fourth objective of the invention is to provide a low cost and accurate apparatus that has multiple applications in the construction field such as in the laying out of floors, vertical framing and roof structures.
The invention can be used by a professional builder who wishes to avoid the use of fragile measuring instruments or by a typical homeowner who wishes to purchase a garage or deck kit and build it himself. For many people, laying out and staking a foundation can be a daunting task. This causes them to avoid a project they could otherwise accomplish. By using the invention, any person can quickly, easily and accurately lay out and stake a perimeter/foundation.